Edging machine



l'Maljh l 1927. 1,619,358

l A. E. MAYNARD EDGING MACHINE v Filed Dec. 26. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheetl VENTOR "0 64 CllberYmaynm A l 1 y March 1 1927. A. E. MAYNARD 6 9 358 EDGING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26. 1924 3 Sheecs-Sheel*l 5 INVENTOR Cllber. may ncd.

lPatented Mar. l, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT E. MAYNARD, OF SOUTHBRIDGE,

OPTICAL COMPANY, OF SOUTHBRIDGE,

TION F MASSACHUSETTS.

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN MASSACHUSETTS, A VOLUNTARY ASSOCIA- EDGING MACHINE.

K Application led December This invention relates broadly to edging nachines, and more particularly to an edgmg machine for grindingthe edges of rim.-

with means for contacting a lens with anyJ one grinding stone, thel'grinding stones being adapted to grind the edges of dilierent types of lenses. i

A still further object of my invention is to provide a machine of unitary structure on which an operator may accomplish processes usually requiring at least two machines, said processes including the edging of ophthalmic lenses of a plurality of shapes, and for either bevelled or rimless types. u 7

Still another object of my invention is the provision of an edging machine having a pair of edging stones, one of said edging stones having a V-shaped grinding edge and being flexibly mounted to adapt itself torsionally to the contour of a lens of any shape, the other of said grinding stones having a straight grinding edge rigidly mounted and having means for laterally reciprocating the same in order to prevent its uneven wearing.v v

A further object of vmy invention is the provisionfof an edging machine having a lens holding carriage and means for shifting the lens holding carriage laterally to position a lens into grinding contact with any one of ,the grinding stones, together with means for revolving the lens while in contact with any one of the grinding stones.

Still another object of myinvention is to provide a machine of this character with a pair of guiding elements, each of said guiding elements being independently adjustable, and a plurality of formers, means for arranging the formers to bring any one into operative relation with either of the guiding elementshand a plurality of guiding edges carried by the guiding elements in order to accommodate any one of a number of different sizes of lenses.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent during the 26, 19221. serial No. 758,120.

course of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine constructed according to my 1nvent1on;

Figure 2 is,a top plan view of the same showing a lens positioned before the straght edged grinding stone;

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the sameshowing a lens in position before the V- yshaped grinding stone; A

Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view taken on .line 4 4 of Figure 3, and showing the specific structure of the grinding stones;

Figure 5 is a detailed perspective view of the means for shifting the former relative to the guiding elements; and

Figure 6 is a detailed sectional view showing the locking. mechanism for holding the former in adjusted position. E

Figure 7 is an end elevation from the right in Figure 1 with casing broken away to show the structure of the formers.

In so far as I am aware it has in the past been necessary for retailing Opticians to have in their shops at least'two edging machines, one for edging rimless lenses, and the other for edging bevelled lenses, due mainly to the fact that although there have been machines constructed to accomplish these two grinding processes, there has never been a machine of this type constructed without certain undesirable features.

It is, therefore, an important object of my invention to provide, in a grinding machine, structure including the following, which will make possible a unitary machine for accomplishing these two grinding processes; structure overcoming these difiiculties includes two grinding elements, one being rigidly mounted on its driving shaft ybut* having a flexible connection between its V- shaped grinding edge and rigid connection in order that it may yieldingly adapt itself to the contour .of the lens, the other grinding stone being rigid throughout its body, but being slidably mounted on its driving shaft, and having means for laterally reciprocating it to revent the uneven wearing along its grinding edge. Next, two` independently Vadjustable guiding elements, each element essary to compensate for the wearing of its respective grinding stone.

Further, a plurality of formers, including all standard shapes enclosed in a single casing, means to slide the .f casing in to juxtaposition with either one of the guiding elements, and'means to revolve all of the formers as a unit to bringany one group, and subsequently any one former, in operative engagement with the desired guide shoe. Then finally, a lens carriage which can be adjusted laterally to present a lens to either of the grinding stones.

An added feature of my invention bccomes apparent when the machine constructed in accordance therewith is used for the exclusive grinding of bevelled edges. Heretofore it has been' necessary in grinding bevelled edges, especially on `lenses which are slightly over size, to either first grind the lens to size on a rstraight edge grinding machine, then remove the same and apply the bevel on a bevel edging mai' chine, or else accomplish the whole operation on an ordinary bevel edging machine,- which had its disadvantages in the length of time required to grind theflens to size..

An ordinary bevel edging machine, if it must first grind a lens to size before edging the same, requires from eight to ten minutes to accomplish the operation, whileif 1t becomes necessary to remove the lens from a straight edge grinding machine on whichv it has been ground to size and then center the same in a bevel edge grinding machine `yin order to grind the bevel, there is not only a Waste of time in changing the lens from one machine to the other, but there is also always the possibility of not ositioning the lens the same in both machines, and thus ruining the saine by grinding it slightly oifl'center.

My machine, however,.eliminates all the difliculty incident tothis .in -that it is possibleto take an over size lens and grind thelsame to size onv the straight edge grinding stone, and then without'removing the lens from the machine, shift the carriage to positicn the lens before the bevel edge grinding stone, and then. apply the bevel,

` thus saving from six to eight minutes in the operation.

This feature becomes particularly important in a sho where a number of lenses are to be bevelle and time becomes an imporrmeans of a sleeve Supported by, 10, and by means of the ear Arevolvabl-y whereby they may be independently rotatedl wardly project-ing nclgsss tant factor, as it makes possible the edging times asv many and 15. The grinding stone 14 comprises a v -shaped peripheral grinding edge 16 carried by an annular stone section 17 flexibly joined by to a 'solid hub 19, rigidly mounted onthc shaft 12by means of a key such as 20. The grind-stone 15 is of the usual construction, being provided with a straight edge 21 but being slidably keyed to the shaft 12 by 22 slotted as at 23 to receive the pin 24 carried by the shaft 12. Integral with the outer end of the sleeve 22 is a collar 25 having on its periphery a cam groove 26 in which rides a guiding pin 27 rigidly mounted in the frame of the machine, whereby the collar 25, the sleeve 22, and grinding stone 15 are all caused to reciprocate laterally as the shaft 12 is revolved. but to one side of, the base 28, are a pair of `guide Ways 29, in which aie slidably mounted guiding elements 30 independently adjustable by means of thethumb screws 31, and the threaded Shanks 32. The guiding elements 30 comprise knurled blocks provided w'ith a plurality of guiding edges 33 mounted on the pivot pins 34,

to bring any one of the guiding edges 38 into operative position. Mounted forwardly of the shaft 12 and parallel thereto is a second shaft 35 driven, by the shaft 12 through suitable gearing enclosed in a shell and designated broadly by the numeral 36, a universally jointed shaft 37 and a pair of spiral gears 39 and 4() respectively. The shaft 35 is provided adjacent its opposite end with an elongated gear 41, and at its end with a clutch mechanism 42. Pivotally moiinted on the shaft 35 and slidable thereon is a lens carriage 43 provided with a downpin 45?. A suitable lever entire machine.

means of a liexible connection 18 43"-, pivoted in the base 10, as at 44A, has

one end slotted as at 461 45, thus furnishing means for laterally shifting the lens carriage, while a weight 47% mounted on the top of the lens carriage tends to swing the same about its pivot and force it toward the edging stones.

Mounted on the top of the lens carriage 43 are a pair Vtof opposed aligned lens to receive the pin f of which are mounted a clamping shafts 44 and 45 adapted to clamp between their opposed ends a lens A. The shaft 44 is slidably and rotatably mounted in a suitable bearing 46, and is normally forced toward the shaft 45 by means of a' spring pressed arm 47, operating through a cross yoke 48 pivoted as at 49, and encircling the shaft 44 as at 50. A lever 51 pivoted in the carriage 43 by means ofa suitable pivot 52 is pivotally fastened to the arm 47 by a pin 53 and` is used to slide the shaft 44 against the force of the spring 54.

The shaft 45 is not slidable relative to the lens carriage, but is rotatable therein, being driven through a large gear 55 driven from the igear 41 on the shaft 35 through an idler 56. The shaft 45 is extended beyond the gear 55 to form the reduced portion 57, on which is mounted the gear 58, and a revolvable casing 59. The casing 59 is provided with a plurality of stub shafts 60 upon each l lurality of formers 61 and integral therewith gears 62 meshing with the gear 55 and adapted to rotate each of the formers in unison with the lens 55A being edged and rotated .by the shafts 44 and 45. The casing 59 is further provided with a lateral sleeve extension 63 formed on the end of which is a knob 64 by which the entire casing, including all of the formers, may be revolved to brlng any one of the formers into operative position.

`A spring pressed key 64A locks the casing into any desired position. An annular supporting band 65 surrounds the casing 59 and is extended downwardly to form the arm 66, loosely encirclinor the shaft 35 and extending below the shaft to form a stub 67 provided with the longitudinally extending arcuate groove 68. Mounted on the side of the base 10, and directly beneath the stub 67 is a plate 69, which is substantially fanv shape provided adjacent its wider end with a series of holes 70. Pivotally mounted on the plate 69 by means of apivot 71 is a lever 72 provided at one end with a pin 73 adapted to Aride in the groove 68 of the stub 67. The opposite end of the lever is provided with a spring pressed pin 74 adapted toengage any one of the holes 70, but provided with a pin 75 projecting from one side for locking the pin in retracted position by engagement with a bayonet slot 76 formed in a casing 77 surrounding the in 74. By turning the'lever 72 about its pivot 71 and locking thesame in any one of its several ossible. positions by means of the pin 74 1n the holes 70, the former casin 59 may be shifted along the shaft 57 an any one of the formers 61 aligned with any one of the guiding' edges 33.

From the fore oing description it will become apparent that I have provided a machine which is capable of grinding in a lthorough and eicient manner, lenses of different sizes and of many shapes, regardless ofwhether they be rimless or bevelled. In operating my machine it is only necessary to depress the lever 51, thus separating the two shafts 44 and 45, center a lens therebetween, and then permit the spring 54 to return the shafts 44 and 45 to normal position, thus clamping the lens. Power applied to the shaft 12 by means of the pulley 13 revolves the two grindingstones 14 and 15 and is subsequently furnished to the shaft 35 by means of the flexible shaft 37 and the gearing 36, 39 and 40. From the shaft 35 power is obtained for the lens holding shafts 44 and 45 by means of the. idler gear 56 and the large gear 55, and the lens 55A is revolved while in contact with eitherh of the stones 14 or 15. The lever. 43A is used to shift the carriage 43 so that the lens may be contacted with either of the grinding stones and the lever 72 to shift the former casing 59 relative to the guiding elements 30 so that any one of the formers 61 may be placed in contact with any desired guiding edge 33. In practice it has been found advisable to adjust one guiding element for each of the grinding stones and leave the same in that adjustment, varying it only as the grinding stone becomes worn. In this way compensation can be made for the un even wearing of the two grinding stones. The colla-r 25 carrying the cam groove 26 laterally7 reciprocates the stone 15, thus preventing the uneven wearing of' its grinding edge, and the flexible connection in the grind stone 14 permits the stone 14 to yieldingly follow the shape of the lenses and makes possible the accurate beveling of lenses of any shape.

While I have shown and described but one form of my invention, it is by no means the only form which my invention may take, inasmuch as I reserve the right to make certain departures herefrom in so far as I y remain within the spirit of the 1nvention` and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim: Y

1. An edging machine, comprising a frame, a pair of lguiding shoes carried by the frame, a grindstone shaft journaled in said frame, a pair of grindstones mounted on said shaft, one ofsaid grindstones being provided with a V-shaped grinding edge, the other grindstone being provided with a straight grinding edge, means 'for axially ref ciprocatingy said last mentioned grindstone during rotation with respect' to the shaft on which it is mounted, a second shaft parallel to the grindstone shaft and `driven thereby, a lens. carriage pivotallyvmounted on the second shaft, means for shifting the lens carriage out of the grinding range bf one grindstone into grinding range of the other grindstone axially of the second shaft, a third shaft parallel to the second shaft and carried by said lens carriage and driven by said second shaft, a former slidably mounted on said third shaft, and means for sliding said former on the third shaft to align itwith either of the said guide shoes.

2. An edging machine comprising a frame, a pair of guide shoes carried thereby and a grindstone shaft journaled therein, a grindstone fr edging beveled lenses and comprising a V-shaped grinding edge and mounted on said shaft, another grindstone for edging rimless lenses and comprising a straight grinding edge and slidably mounted on said shaft, means for laterally reciprocating said last mentioned grindstone on its shaft, said means comprising a laterally extending sleeve carrying said grindstone and surrounding said shaft, a collar mounted on the outer end of said sleeve, and a pin carried by the frame for engaging a cam groove formed in the collar, a second shaft parallel to the grindstone shaft and driven thereby, a. lens carriage pivotally mounted on the second shaft, means for shifting the lens carriage out of the grinding range of one grindstone into grinding range of the other grindstone axially of the second shaft, a third shaftY parallel to the second shaft carried by said lens carriage and driven by said second shaft, a former slidably mounted on said third shaft, and means for sliding said former on the third shaft to align it with either of the said guide shoes.

3. An edging machine comprising a frame, a pair of guide shoes carried thereby and a grindstone shaft journaled therein, a grinding a V-shaped grinding edge and mounted on said shaft, another grindstone for edging rimless lenses and comprising a straight grinding edge and slidably mounted on said shaft, means for laterally reciprocating said last mentioned grindstone on' its shaft, said means comprising a laterally extending sleeve carrying said grindstone and surrounding said shaft, a collar mounted on the outer end of said sleeve, a pin carried by the frame for engaging a cam groove formed in the collar, a second shaft parallel to the grindstone shaft and driven thereby, a lens carriage pivotally mounted on the second shaft, means for shifting the lens carriage out of the grindingrange of one grindstone into grinding range of the other grindstone axially of the second shaft, a third shaft parallel to the second shaft carried by said lens carriage and driven by said second shaft, a former sldablymounted on said third shaft, and means for sliding said former on the third shaft to align it With either of the said guide shoes, said means comprising a plate formed at one side of the frame and having a series of perforations formed adjacent the outer edge thereof, a lever pivotally mounted on said plate, a pin carried by one end of said lever for shift-ing said former, and a spring pressed locking pin carried by the opposite end of said lever for locking engagement with any one of the series of perforations.

4. A lens edging machine for rimming and bevelling lenses comprising a frame, a grindstone shaft, means for rotating the shaft, a grindstone rigidly mounted on the shaft, a second grindstone slidingly mounted on-the shaft, means for reciprocating the slidable grindsto-ne as it rotates with the shaft, a pivotally mounted and sliding lens carriage adapted to hold the lens in grinding Contact with either grindstone, a movable former associated with the lens carriage for regulating the shape of the lens as it is ground by either grindstone, a guide shoe contact for the former for each of the grindstones, means to slide the lens carriage to engage the lens With either grindstone, and means to slide the former to engage either of the guide shoe contacts to govern the shape of the lens being operated upon by the corresponding grindstone.

i 5. A lens edging machine for rinnning and bevelling lenses comprising a frame, a grindstone shaft, means for rotating the shaft, a grindstone having a straight edge mounted -on the shaft, a second grindstone having a V-shape'd groove in its edge mounted on the shaft, a pivotally mounted and slidable lens carriage adapted to hold the lens in grinding Contact with either grindstone, a movable former associated With the lens carriage for regulating the shape of the lens as it is ground by either grindstone, a guide shoe contact for the former for each ofthe grindstones, means to slide the lens carriage to engage the lens With either grindstone, and means to slide the former to engage either of the guide shoe contacts to govern the shape of the lens being operated upon by the corresponding grindstone.

ALBERT E. MAYNARD. 

